Mastercard's opt-out blocker fails

The £14bn claim concerns multilateral interchange fees charged by Mastercard, which the European Commission later found breached competition law and resulted in higher prices for consumers. It is the first ‘opt-out’ case certified by the CAT, which means anyone who fulfils the criteria (over 16, UK domiciled between 1992 and 2008, and purchased from UK businesses that accepted Mastercard) is included unless they specifically opt out.

In a ruling handed down last week, the CAT refused permission on all four grounds, at [2022] CAT 50, on the basis the grounds advanced by Mastercard had no real prospect of success and raised no arguable point of law.